Ben Model
@silentfilmmusic.bsky.social
silent film accompanist-historian-presenter; Undercrank Prods. home video; archivist of Ernie Kovacs television collection
Reposted by Ben Model
I'm looking forward to this tomorrow (online and in-person in NYC): Ben Model and his wife, Manna Allen, and other silent film historians and colleagues helped me get through the early months of COVID-19 when they hosted Sunday screenings and talks.
New book event! I’ll be giving a talk ‘n play presentation on “The Silent Film Universe” at the The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen on Thurs Dec 4th. The lecture will be both in-person and virtual. generalsociety.org/future-lectu...
December 3, 2025 at 3:43 PM
I'm looking forward to this tomorrow (online and in-person in NYC): Ben Model and his wife, Manna Allen, and other silent film historians and colleagues helped me get through the early months of COVID-19 when they hosted Sunday screenings and talks.
New podcast episode is out! silentfilmmusic.com/ep-71-phanto...
ep. 71: Phantoms and Pipe Organs
Ben and Kerr talk about Ben’s busy Halloween season, underscoring the unmasking scene in “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925) at Angel Nyack, and his encounters with theater ghosts; also covered are Ben'...
silentfilmmusic.com
December 4, 2025 at 2:21 AM
New podcast episode is out! silentfilmmusic.com/ep-71-phanto...
My trip to Dallas for the Ernie Kovacs Award this Saturday, which will be presented to Fred Armisen, will not be my first time meeting him.
silentfilmmusic.com/fred-armisen...
silentfilmmusic.com/fred-armisen...
The Time a Pre-Portlandia Fred Armisen Connected With Silent Comedy Film
This Saturday’s Ernie Kovacs Award ceremony will be the second time my work has allowed me to cross paths with Fred Armisen. In January 2009 Armisen and collaborator Carrie Brownstein made a short vid...
silentfilmmusic.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:12 PM
My trip to Dallas for the Ernie Kovacs Award this Saturday, which will be presented to Fred Armisen, will not be my first time meeting him.
silentfilmmusic.com/fred-armisen...
silentfilmmusic.com/fred-armisen...
My book "The Silent Film Universe" has been available at the AFI Silver Theatre for the duration of their annual Silent Cinema Showcase. Thank you Todd Hitchcock, Abigail Algar, Josh Gardner and the rest of the Silver staff for great shows this weekend!
November 16, 2025 at 12:50 AM
My book "The Silent Film Universe" has been available at the AFI Silver Theatre for the duration of their annual Silent Cinema Showcase. Thank you Todd Hitchcock, Abigail Algar, Josh Gardner and the rest of the Silver staff for great shows this weekend!
New book event! I’ll be giving a talk ‘n play presentation on “The Silent Film Universe” at the The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen on Thurs Dec 4th. The lecture will be both in-person and virtual. generalsociety.org/future-lectu...
November 13, 2025 at 7:09 PM
New book event! I’ll be giving a talk ‘n play presentation on “The Silent Film Universe” at the The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen on Thurs Dec 4th. The lecture will be both in-person and virtual. generalsociety.org/future-lectu...
Reposted by Ben Model
Check out Bens book, now on Kindle #silentfilm
My book "The Silent Film Universe" is now available in a Kindle edition!
bit.ly/SFUniverse-kindle
bit.ly/SFUniverse-kindle
November 4, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Check out Bens book, now on Kindle #silentfilm
Reposted by Ben Model
Awesome book! Fascinating cover-to-cover. I learned a great deal about the creation and the (VERY interesting Chapter 9) speeds of silent film making and projection. Extremely engaging read. Well done, Ben! 👍🏻💙
November 4, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Awesome book! Fascinating cover-to-cover. I learned a great deal about the creation and the (VERY interesting Chapter 9) speeds of silent film making and projection. Extremely engaging read. Well done, Ben! 👍🏻💙
My book "The Silent Film Universe" is now available in a Kindle edition!
bit.ly/SFUniverse-kindle
bit.ly/SFUniverse-kindle
November 4, 2025 at 9:26 PM
My book "The Silent Film Universe" is now available in a Kindle edition!
bit.ly/SFUniverse-kindle
bit.ly/SFUniverse-kindle
Lost for decades until I found it in 2010, a silent film made by and about the Elgin National Watch Company is on display at the Elgin Area Historical Museum. "The House of Wonders" is on my YouTube channel and vol. 1 of "Accidentally Preserved"; the film element is now at the Library of Congress.
October 25, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Lost for decades until I found it in 2010, a silent film made by and about the Elgin National Watch Company is on display at the Elgin Area Historical Museum. "The House of Wonders" is on my YouTube channel and vol. 1 of "Accidentally Preserved"; the film element is now at the Library of Congress.
New podcast is out! I talk about scoring "Berlin: Symphony of a City", "Saxophon Susi" at MoMA, "Finders Keepers" with Laura LaPlante at Capitolfest, recording music to "Poisoned Paradise" for the NFPF and Keystone shorts for the new Arbuckle set, and much more.
silentfilmmusic.com/ep-70-flappe...
silentfilmmusic.com/ep-70-flappe...
ep. 70: Flappers, Roscoe and Laura LaPlante
Ben and Kerr talk about Ben's shows at MoMA's "Silent Movie Week" of "Saxophon Susi" and "Berlin: Symphony of a Great City", and at the Rubinstein Atrium at Lincoln Center for an early Louise Brooks P...
silentfilmmusic.com
October 21, 2025 at 9:06 PM
New podcast is out! I talk about scoring "Berlin: Symphony of a City", "Saxophon Susi" at MoMA, "Finders Keepers" with Laura LaPlante at Capitolfest, recording music to "Poisoned Paradise" for the NFPF and Keystone shorts for the new Arbuckle set, and much more.
silentfilmmusic.com/ep-70-flappe...
silentfilmmusic.com/ep-70-flappe...
I'll be live-scoring the new restoration of "The Man Who Laughs" this week at the Cinema Arts Centre, Long Island's premiere showplace for classic and silent film.
prod3.agileticketing.net/WebSales/pag...
prod3.agileticketing.net/WebSales/pag...
October 18, 2025 at 3:12 PM
I'll be live-scoring the new restoration of "The Man Who Laughs" this week at the Cinema Arts Centre, Long Island's premiere showplace for classic and silent film.
prod3.agileticketing.net/WebSales/pag...
prod3.agileticketing.net/WebSales/pag...
The first of my 3 POTO shows of the season is next week, in Elgin IL. Here's the promo piece that appears in today's "The Daily Herald".
www.dailyherald.com/20251016/sub...
www.dailyherald.com/20251016/sub...
October 16, 2025 at 8:53 PM
The first of my 3 POTO shows of the season is next week, in Elgin IL. Here's the promo piece that appears in today's "The Daily Herald".
www.dailyherald.com/20251016/sub...
www.dailyherald.com/20251016/sub...
For those of you who didn't back this project, here are all the updates I've sent about our work and some other info about the film. Still on track for release in early Spring 2026
www.kickstarter.com/projects/sil...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/sil...
Marion Davies in "THE CARDBOARD LOVER" (1928)
The project: produce a new 2K restoration from a scan of archival 35mm, with a new score, for Blu-ray, DVD and DCP (homevid + shows).
www.kickstarter.com
October 12, 2025 at 2:05 PM
For those of you who didn't back this project, here are all the updates I've sent about our work and some other info about the film. Still on track for release in early Spring 2026
www.kickstarter.com/projects/sil...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/sil...
Reposted by Ben Model
Love how silent films are regaining popularity; especially with younger audiences.
Last time our daughter came up, we showed her Keaton’s The Neighbors. Last night it we watched The Goat.
She’s a big fan of Metropolis.
Last time our daughter came up, we showed her Keaton’s The Neighbors. Last night it we watched The Goat.
She’s a big fan of Metropolis.
a black and white photo of two men sitting at a table with plates on it
ALT: a black and white photo of two men sitting at a table with plates on it
media.tenor.com
October 4, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Love how silent films are regaining popularity; especially with younger audiences.
Last time our daughter came up, we showed her Keaton’s The Neighbors. Last night it we watched The Goat.
She’s a big fan of Metropolis.
Last time our daughter came up, we showed her Keaton’s The Neighbors. Last night it we watched The Goat.
She’s a big fan of Metropolis.
Reposted by Ben Model
Watched tonight! A few days late for Silent Movie Day. Your score is terrific and I enjoyed the movie.
October 5, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Watched tonight! A few days late for Silent Movie Day. Your score is terrific and I enjoyed the movie.
Happy birthday, Buster! My Silent Clowns Film Series will celebrate next weekend with a program of BK's classic comedy shorts, on Oct 12 at the Leonard Nimoy Theater at Symphony Space. For deets and tix follow the link.
www.symphonyspace.org/events/silen...
www.symphonyspace.org/events/silen...
Silent Clowns Film Series - Buster Keaton: 4 Classic Comedies
Symphony Space is a performing arts center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan offering theater, film, literature, music, dance and family entertainment. Our mission is to connect art, ideas, and comm...
www.symphonyspace.org
October 4, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Happy birthday, Buster! My Silent Clowns Film Series will celebrate next weekend with a program of BK's classic comedy shorts, on Oct 12 at the Leonard Nimoy Theater at Symphony Space. For deets and tix follow the link.
www.symphonyspace.org/events/silen...
www.symphonyspace.org/events/silen...
Honored that there was cake served after last night's showing of "Sunrise" (1927) at Bowdoin College! Kudos to Prof. Tricia Welsch (also an SCWP superfan) for arranging for this and for everything else yesterday. It was great getting to share silent film with both of her Film Studies classes!
October 3, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Honored that there was cake served after last night's showing of "Sunrise" (1927) at Bowdoin College! Kudos to Prof. Tricia Welsch (also an SCWP superfan) for arranging for this and for everything else yesterday. It was great getting to share silent film with both of her Film Studies classes!
Reposted by Ben Model
This is so wonderful! She was my professor in the early ‘00s and one of the best profs I ever had. I’m so glad she’s still doing things like this!
October 3, 2025 at 5:30 PM
This is so wonderful! She was my professor in the early ‘00s and one of the best profs I ever had. I’m so glad she’s still doing things like this!
Big news: this year's Ernie Kovacs award will be presented to Fred Armisen! I will be at the Dallas Video Festival event on November 22, and playing for Keaton's "The Cameraman" the night before. Details are at www.dallasobserver.com/arts-culture...
October 2, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Big news: this year's Ernie Kovacs award will be presented to Fred Armisen! I will be at the Dallas Video Festival event on November 22, and playing for Keaton's "The Cameraman" the night before. Details are at www.dallasobserver.com/arts-culture...
Murnau at Bowdoin! Looking forward to playing for students by day and for "Sunrise" by night. We're running the feature at the speed Murnau wanted, 100 ft/min (around 27 fps).
October 1, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Murnau at Bowdoin! Looking forward to playing for students by day and for "Sunrise" by night. We're running the feature at the speed Murnau wanted, 100 ft/min (around 27 fps).
Happy Silent Movie Day! The National Film Preservation Foundation hired me to score 2 rare silents for their online screening room to celebrate. Here's the other one, "Way Out West" (1920) starring Hank Mann.
www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-fi...
www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-fi...
September 29, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Happy Silent Movie Day! The National Film Preservation Foundation hired me to score 2 rare silents for their online screening room to celebrate. Here's the other one, "Way Out West" (1920) starring Hank Mann.
www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-fi...
www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-fi...
Happy Silent Movie Day! The National Film Preservation Foundation hired me to score 2 rare silents for their online screening room to celebrate. Here's the first, "Poisoned Paradise" (1924) starring Clara Bow, Kenneth Harlan and Raymond Griffith.
www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-fi...
www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-fi...
September 29, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Happy Silent Movie Day! The National Film Preservation Foundation hired me to score 2 rare silents for their online screening room to celebrate. Here's the first, "Poisoned Paradise" (1924) starring Clara Bow, Kenneth Harlan and Raymond Griffith.
www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-fi...
www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-fi...
The site "Why So Blu?" has posted an excellent review of our release of the restored "The Bat" (1926)!
whysoblu.com/the-bat-1926...
whysoblu.com/the-bat-1926...
The Bat (1926) (Blu-ray Review) | Why So Blu?
Silent cinema fans have reason to celebrate with the new Blu-ray release of The Bat (1926), a cornerstone of the old dark house mystery tradition. Directed by Roland West and based on Mary Roberts Rin...
whysoblu.com
September 27, 2025 at 1:07 PM
The site "Why So Blu?" has posted an excellent review of our release of the restored "The Bat" (1926)!
whysoblu.com/the-bat-1926...
whysoblu.com/the-bat-1926...
The Undercrank Productions restoration of "Father Was a Loafer" with Billie Ritchie will screen at the Pordenone silent film festival. My new blog post (in my comment below) has the scoop! This film was part of our 2018 Alice Howell homevid project.
silentfilmmusic.com/alice-howell...
silentfilmmusic.com/alice-howell...
Alice and Billie Go To Pordenone
I'm pretty sure next month's screening of Father Was a Loafer (1915) will be the first time Alice Howell's Cupie-doll face will hit the big screen at the Pordenone Silent film festival.
The Pordeno...
silentfilmmusic.com
September 26, 2025 at 1:40 PM
The Undercrank Productions restoration of "Father Was a Loafer" with Billie Ritchie will screen at the Pordenone silent film festival. My new blog post (in my comment below) has the scoop! This film was part of our 2018 Alice Howell homevid project.
silentfilmmusic.com/alice-howell...
silentfilmmusic.com/alice-howell...
Print Magazine has posted a great interview with Marlene Weisman, the brilliant artist who's designed all the covers for my Blu-rays & DVDs as well as the one for my book. Steve Heller is a legend in the field, himself, and I'm thrilled that he's featured Marlene.
www.printmag.com/daily-heller...
www.printmag.com/daily-heller...
The Daily Heller: A New Old Approach to Vintage Films and Music – PRINT Magazine
Marlene Weisman talks silent film design.
www.printmag.com
September 26, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Print Magazine has posted a great interview with Marlene Weisman, the brilliant artist who's designed all the covers for my Blu-rays & DVDs as well as the one for my book. Steve Heller is a legend in the field, himself, and I'm thrilled that he's featured Marlene.
www.printmag.com/daily-heller...
www.printmag.com/daily-heller...